Actresses Have Fun With `Nunsense`

The immortal Bard`s Hamlet might just as well have been in South Florida when he advised Ophelia to ``get thee to a nunnery.``

The great Dane and his consort would still be laughing in couplets if they had headed for the Coconut Grove Playhouse.

There, through Jan. 4, a unique sisterhood appearing in the musical romp Nunsense has been tickling the funny bones of all who enter their convent of comedy.

Among the hilarious sisters without mercy are Kaye Ballard as Mother Superior, Marcia Lewis as her assistant, Jaye P. Morgan as a streetwise nun, Helen Baldassare as an amnesiac, and footloose Michaela Hughes as a ballet- smitten newcomer.

Together the troupe takes Dan Goggin`s music and lyrics merrily in hand, blowing the lid off the seedy auditorium of Mount St. Helen`s School and out into the audience.

Never do the proceedings carry an edge like Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All To You. On the contrary, Nunsense is more on the order of Sugar Babies -- or a less sinful Hellzapoppin`.

As diminutive Baldassare assures, ``Nunsense is full of human things. The show is successful because everything is done in good spirit, with nothing mean, nothing satirical.``

Still, Baldassare almost blushes over one line in the show -- an unexpected quip she makes as a nun, but in the guise of hand-manipulated alter ego: ``We can have everything -- we just can`t own it.``

Baldassare as Sister Mary Amnesia is, well, unforgettable. In character, she is truly a lost soul, unable to state her name or trace her origins ever since a crucifix fell on her head. After becoming a Little Sister of Hoboken, she has ``mastered`` ventriloquism and can swing a ruler with the best of them.

Whether flitting across the stage like a bewildered bird (``No penguin jokes, please!``), quizzing the audience or belting out the twangy I Could`ve Gone To Nashville, Baldassare is terrific.

While Baldassare`s presence in Nunsense is a break for the audience, nabbing the role was also a big break for the 37-year-old actress.

Though best known to Manhattan audiences for her acclaimed cabaret shows, Baldassare also appeared in the New York company of Nunsense. She was asked to come to Miami to ``walk through`` the part of Sister Amnesia during rehersals until the actress slated for the role arrived.

When the actress bowed out, Baldassare garnered the part and promptly lost her mind. She just might be the template for all future Sister Amnesias.

``We`re having a wonderful time doing it -- all five of us,`` Baldassare says, beaming. ``It`s a joy coming to work. Once we get out there it`s so much fun. Everyone in the show is sharing and that`s exciting.``

In one bit, Baldassare queries aspects of Catholicism with an audacious nun puppet. She had never done any puppetry before. So she spent day after day in front of a mirror and even studied Jim Henson`s puppet work by watching television`s Sesame Street.

Indeed, the charm of Nunsense is the breezy, relaxed interaction among the cast, the obvious ad-libs and impromptu puns. The fact that the Sisters are doing a stage benefit for the first time also helps. A performer can`t really get into trouble with the show.

But what if the clergy attends?

``Oh, we`ve had members of the clergy come to the show and give us feedback,`` Baldassare says. ``A priest came backstage and asked for everyone`s autograph. And one night there were two nuns in, seated down front. We all wondered if they`d find our colored tap shoes offensive; you`re never really sure where their sensibilities are. Kaye kept watching them the whole time to see if they laughed.

``Sometimes people will react to the characters and say `I knew a nun like that once. She was in jail before becoming nun.` It sounds funny, having always revered nuns -- always thinking they were perfect.``

Ballard as a truly superior Mother Superior is both happy and upset with the show. With the exception of Baldassare (``We`re so happy for her,`` Ballard says), casting the show was her responsibility. Ballard is pleased with that.

``I was supposed to do the last song (Holier Than Thou), you know,`` Ballard explained between bites of pasta at a Coconut Grove cafe. ``But then, I wouldn`t have gotten Marcia Lewis. I don`t have any number like that,`` and she winks.

``Everyone else is in Growing Up Catholic, Jaye P. has I Just Want To Be A Star and Helen has the Nashville song.``

Ballard needn`t worry. She is center stage throughout, feeding out straight lines and tossing out punchlines with divine accuracy.